Boulder DA looks to better protect city's homeless population

Garnett says 'nobody is fair game in Boulder County'

All too often, when transients are victimized, their stories and the crimes against them -- like many of the men and women themselves -- can go unnoticed and unreported.

That's why Boulder County District Attorney Stan Garnett said his office is working on a set of initiatives to ensure the homeless know that won't happen in Boulder.

"Nobody is fair game in Boulder County, not even if you are homeless and having a rough time in your life," Garnett said. "We will both hold accountable the person who committed the crime against you and do everything to help you move on with your life."

Garnett previously has made prosecuting people who prey on immigrants and the elderly a priority, and he said the homeless need similar protection, because, like the other two groups, their circumstances can make them easy targets.

"We're looking at initiatives to be proactive in protecting those who are victims of certain kinds of crime," Garnett said. "Who's more vulnerable than the homeless? We're reaching out to the homeless community to tell them, 'If you get victimized, we will prosecute the case like we do any other.'"

The DA's office has been working with local shelters and organizations such as Bridge House to figure out ways to let members of the transient population know they have options. Garnett and some of his deputies recently visited Bridge House to talk to clients there about that very topic.

"We want to open up a dialogue and try and break down that barrier between law enforcement and the homeless community," said Isabel McDevitt, the executive director of Bridge House. "I really applaud the DA's efforts to reach out to the homeless population because it is important."

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McDevitt said she and her staff often hear about unreported crimes against some of their homeless clients and said many of them are afraid to go to the authorities because they may not fully understand their rights.

"From our experience there are several reasons why they may not go forward," McDevitt said. "They could be in fear of retaliation in the case of homeless-on-homeless crime or if someone has mental health issues they may be afraid of interacting with the system."

Garnett added that in some cases, transients may have their own criminal histories or substance abuse issues that make them hesitant to interact with the law.

"One complications is that they also perpetrate crime from time to time," he said. "In those cases, we will not give them special treatment. But we also don't want them to be afraid to report being a victim."

Going to trial

Garnett pointed out a recent case that illustrated both the need to protect the homeless, but also some of the hurdles that are involved in doing so.

Edward Robbins, 35, recently was convicted of assault and violation of a protection order charges for beating up the same homeless man twice in less than a month.

According to police reports, Robbins first assaulted the man on June 12, 2011, near Broadway and Pearl Street. The victim told police he was just walking along when Robbins suddenly came up behind him and started punching him in the stomach, according to the report.

Robbins told police he was frustrated with the transient population and that "someone needs to take care of it."

On June 25, 2011, the victim alerted police at the Boulder Public Library that Robbins had again punched him near 13th and Walnut streets. When Robbins was contacted by police later that day, he told officers, "that guy is troubled and someone had to do something about it," according to the report.

Robbins also pleaded guilty in a previous case in which he punched another homeless man in April 2011 in the 1100 block of 13th Street -- about a block away from the June 25, 2011, incident -- and called the victim a "menace" to the community.

'Justice'

Deputy district attorneys Madoche Jean and Pamela Maass -- who tried the Robbins case -- said the victim was initially cooperative, but then as the trial drew near, he failed to show up.

Maass said trying a case without a victim is "rare and challenging" and that most cases without a victim are dropped, but the DA's office elected to move forward with the case against Robbins because he appeared to be repeatedly targeting members of the homeless population.

Maass and Jean used the evidence investigators already had gathered showing injuries to the victim as well as testimony from the victim in Robbins' previous case to show motive and intent, and were ultimately able to secure a conviction on all counts.

Despite the hurdles in the case, Jean said it was important to send the message that transients were not open game for criminals looking for easy targets.

"Sometimes the homeless community may feel that society doesn't want to protect their rights," Jean said. "They have rights, too, and they should be protected as well.

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